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across the entire playing
field, as well as drive success,” the report said.

E2W – a rather unique
company – helps financial
institutions ‘collect the
Gender Dividend’, which
is described as the economic benefit of employing
women.

E2W’s co-founder and
chief operating officer, Tina
Freed, explained in a blog
post it is up to each organisation to retain its female
staff, where an ‘unhealthy’
work-life balance can often
force them out.

“Employers who cannot
accommodate the changing
life circumstances of their
employees and provide an
environment in which they
can continue to develop
their careers are potentially
cutting themselves off from
a talent pool that they can
ill afford to in the age of
fierce global competition,”
she wrote.

Freed added that
Fin Tech companies must
think about new ways
they can incorporate flexibility into their working
environment.

Women – it would seem– is an untapped resourcefor Fin Tech firms who arelooking to extend and retaintalent in an ever-growing,competitive industry. noutnumbered men apply-ing for jobs in the financialservices industry.

A whitepaper authored
by Innotribe – renowned
for its Fin Tech ‘start-up
challenge’ – revealed a
rather shocking gender
imbalance within the
Fin Tech industry.

In the top 50 European
Union based Fin Tech
firms just one company
has a female chief executive officer.

A panellist at theInnovate Finance GlobalSummit in 2015 claimedthat – “The number ofCEOs named ‘John’ ishigher than the number offemale CEOs overall.”Another startling statis-tic – 40% of women withengineering degrees willnever enter the technologyworkforce or will eventu-ally leave.

The authors ofInnotribe’s whitepaperencouraged Fin Tech firmsto hire more women “andmake a commitment to fos-tering diversity.”“Improving gender bal-ance in Fin Tech is necessaryin order to truly developproducts and solutions thataddress the needs of allusers… Addressing diver-sity within Fin Tech willin turn generate diversityManaging directorCaroline Langron, saidPlatform Black are allabout developing the rightpractices in our organisa-tion such as having anhonest and open commu-nication strategy.

“We strive to deliver to
a high level of integrity and
we ensure our practices are
transparent,” she said.

Currently undergoing a
rebrand, Pelican is looking
to ensure more of its staff
are hired for the long-term.

“We are currently
shifting gears as part
of the rebrand, and we
want to empower our
staff with more responsibilities under a framework
which is well-structured,”
Pelican’s chief explained.

He believes this
approach will not only
benefit those working at
Pelican, but also see the
company grow under good
leadership from the all
employees.

What about women?

In 2013, financial services
and accountancy recruitment firm – Ranstad
Financial & Professional
– found that 51% of candidates registering with them
were women.